1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to work piece support assemblies and, in particular, to a support that pivots the leg assembly thereby allowing efficient assembly and storage. The invention further relates to a method for providing a pivoting hinge, and to a kit having the components for assembling the work piece support assembly.
2. Background
Many various designs of work piece support assemblies are well known in the art. The basic carpenters support assembly has been made of wood with legs nailed or otherwise secured to a horizontal beam. Such a support assembly is typically fixedly assembled and must be stored and moved in its completed form. Storing and transporting such a support assembly is space consuming and does not lend itself to efficient storage.
Typically, pieces of lumber are often secured together to form a work piece support assembly using hardware components that are commercially available. This may result in a support assembly of considerable weight that is either permanently or reversibly assembled. However, once the support assembly is disassembled there is usually no convenient way to keep all the various parts and components together for reassembly.
This has resulted in various efforts to design work piece support assemblies make construction, transportation and storage more efficient and convenient. These include designs that provide for either the folding and/or telescoping of the legs relative to the elongated rail support member. It is also known to provide attachment pieces together so that the support assembly may be dismantled, with the resulting pieces less likely to become lost. Typically, such designs are expensive in that special manufactured parts are required. Some designs can accommodate replacing the elongated rail support member, upon extraordinary wear or damage. Some designs use the elongated rail itself as part of the support structure. An example of this is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,003 issued Jul. 14, 1998 to W. F. Carty, where each end of a horizontal rail is used to attach brackets for supporting legs of a collapsible sawhorse. The only horizontal structure is the rail itself. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,647,455 issued Jul. 15, 1997 to D. L. Russell, the opposite approach is used, where the tubular outer and inner hinge members provide the horizontal support between each leg assembly, and an engaging member (rail) is attached to the top side of the outer hinge member.
Work piece support assemblies typically serve a single function, that of providing an elevated elongated rail, for use by carpenters, framers, those in other construction trades, as well as homeowners, gardeners and hobbyists. Some designs have been developed that have built-in tool shelves, and some also provide steps for use of the unit as a step ladder. These support assemblies or substantially similar designs can also be the basis for other structures such as scaffolding, work or support platforms, sawhorses and tables.
Therefore, what is needed is a work piece support assembly that can alternate between an operational configuration and an efficient transportation and storage configuration. The efficiency in storage relates to the ease and convenience of storing, the space occupied during storage, and in the retention of component parts. There also is a need for a support assembly that is inexpensive to make, and which can be easily assembled or positioned between operational and storage modes without special tools, to form a stable and lightweight structure.